A majority of Israeli Jews think Israeli Arabs are a threat to security and believe they should be encouraged to leave the country, according to a new survey.
Israeli Arabs constitute about 20 percent of Israel's population of 6.8 million.
The author of the wide-ranging survey said Tuesday the survey of 1,016 Israelis found that 64 percent of Jewish respondents believe the government should encourage Israeli Arabs to leave the country, and 55 percent think they constitute a threat to Israeli security.
The survey also found that 46 percent of Israeli Jews believe that Israeli Arabs should lose their right to vote and not be allowed to sit in parliament.
Mohammed Barakeh, an Israeli Arab member of parliament, said the results of the survey were "depressing and worrying."
"There is no legitimacy for an entire group to feel threatened in the country of its birth," he told Israel Army Radio. (Albawaba.com)
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